DNP, MPI and Sony Develop MasterCard Compatible IC Credit Card Using Plastic Derived from Biobased Polymer (PLA)
Dai
Nippon Printing , Mitsubishi Plastic Inc., (MPI) and Sony
Corporation (Sony) today announced the joint development of the world’s
first1 IC credit card using a biobased polymer (PLA;
Polylactic acid) as its primary material, and that the card has
obtained permission of usage from MasterCard Worldwide.
The
newly developed card uses plastic derived from biobased polymer, a
substance for which there are mounting expectations as a viable new
resource. Creating a biobased polymer capable of withstanding
manufacturing processes such as the embedding of magnetic stripes and
embossing, while also providing durability over repeated use had
represented a long-term challenge, but through their joint
technological development the three companies have enabled these
difficulties to be overcome, and the card has successfully achieved
levels of durability and reliability required by international credit
card standards (ISO and JIS*2 ).
46.5 percent of the card mass is comprised of biobased polymer, and
with superior features such as a reduction in the use of exhaustible
resources and prevention of increased greenhouse gas emissions, the
card is capable of contributing to environmental conservation.
Furthermore, the card has been successfully mounted with both a contact IC chip and FeliCa*3
, a contactless IC card technology developed by Sony. As a result, the
card can be used as a multi-functional IC credit card mounted with
applications including electronic money, point reward, and gateway
controls such as company and student IDs.
With
environmental conservation now a key issue on a global scale,
significant business potential can be seen in the practical application
of biobased polymers, especially in contactless IC credit cards which
are valued for their convenience, reliability and safety. In order to
use biobased polymers as a substitute material for polyester-made
credit cards, the new plastic needs to function properly in any
environment where current credit cards are used. In order to fulfill
such conditions, MPI developed a special design and manufacturing
technology for the sheet, DNP developed special design and
manufacturing technology related to the card’s structural design, and
Sony applied its knowledge acquired from the company’s previous
application of biobased plastics in Sony products and coordinated
development processes including the setting of evaluation conditions
for high temperature, high humidity environmental tests spanning
several thousand hours. As a result, the three companies have
successfully developed a credit card using biobased polymer compatible
with the ISO and JIS international credit card standards, and also
fulfilled MasterCard card design standards.
Going
forward, DNP together with Sony and MPI will promote a variety of
businesses including FeliCa mounted multi-function IC cards. DNP will
also actively promote sales to financial institutions, targeting sales
of approximately 1.5 billion yen by the year ending March 31, 2012.
